By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
In an attempt to deal with the civil trials backlog, the Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo has proposed mediation process before civil cases proceed to trial.
The Gauteng High Court has few judges for the number of civil matters enrolled, with the earliest available court dates in 2031.
Gauteng is the largest and busiest high court division in the country.
This situation is untenable and infringes on the right to access to courts as guaranteed by Section 34 of the Constitution. The effect of the presence of these matters on the trial roll prejudices matters that genuinely deserve judicial attention by means of a trial, the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) said.
It added that expedited litigation is in the best interest of the litigants involved; hence, mediation has been selected as the option to fulfil this objective.
In an attempt to deal with the case backlog, the division has, in consultation with stakeholders, made efforts to find solutions to mitigate these challenges.
One of these solutions has culminated in the development of the draft directive on mandatory mediation. The option of mandatory mediation is informed by the fact that more than 85% of trial matters that have waited years to be on the trial roll always settle upon the arrival of the trial date.
According to the OCJ, this clearly demonstrates that the majority of matters that are congesting the trial roll should have been resolved a long time ago.
The office pointed out that the “directive”, which is currently circulating among the legal fraternity, is at this stage only a draft for comment.
It explained that as contemplated in Section 173 of the Constitution, the Judge President – Mlambo in this case – shall exercise policy oversight over the manner in which matters are brought before the division for hearing.
This empowers the judge president to put in place measures that will promote the efficient administration of justice in the division.
“It should be noted that the draft directive is aimed at the Civil Court Roll. Further to this, all efforts have been made to ensure that the draft directive does not detract or impede any established rules of court,” the OCJ said.
The deadline for submission is April 3, and it should be sent to jp.gauteng@judiciary.org.za